Thursday’s loss stopped the Caps’ mini winning run at two
games. Washington has won only two of its last 10 (2-6-2), the worst record of
any team in the league during that span. The Caps have won only five of their
last 19 games (5-9-5).

“We put ourselves in this position,” says Caps defenseman
John Carlson, “so we’ve got to find ways to get out of it and get out of it in
a hurry. The games are rolling by here.”

The Caps squandered chances to take an early lead and
instead dug themselves a 2-0 in the first 20 minutes and were down 4-0 before
Joel Ward scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period. Washington
pulled to within 4-2 on Eric Fehr’s goal early in the third, but surrendered
another goal just 64 seconds later to restore the Jackets’ three-goal
advantage.

With three power play chances in the game’s final 15 minutes
that included a brief two-man advantage, the Caps were in a position to
respond. But their moribund power play went 0-for-7 on the night and is now
6-for-48 (12.5%) in January.

Speaking of January, the Capitals are as cold as the weather
this month. Washington is now 4-7-3 (11 points) for the month. Excluding
lockout-shortened campaigns, the last time the Caps finished January with fewer
than five wins and fewer than 12 points was 1991-92 when they were 4-4-3 in a
light, 11-game January slate.

The loss dropped the Capitals to seventh place in the
Metropolitan Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference
standings. Despite its extended tailspin, Washington is still only two points
in arrears of the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with
28 games to go. The Caps have four teams to hop over in order to climb into
that spot, however.

“We’ve got to be more consistent,” said Caps right wing Troy
Brouwer after the loss in Columbus. “It starts with our effort tonight. Little
details in the defensive zone, making sure we’re picking up our assignments and
making sure we’re getting pucks out when we need to. In the offensive zone,
protecting pucks, not turning them over, getting them behind [the opposition’s
defense], getting bodies in front.

“There is a whole list of things that we can do better and
we need to do better. And once we figure that out and once we start doing those
things and amongst that continue to work hard like we have in the previous few
games, then our game is really going to come together and then we’re going to
start climbing the standings and getting some wins.”

When it was suggested that the Caps’ list is getting longer
as the season gets shorter, Brouwer did not disagree.

“It’s a list that is a lot of our game,” he said. “It’s a
lot of our game that we need to clean up. Coming into every night with our
meetings we’re addressing the same things and we need to learn, we need to
progress as a team and we need to get better. And then we’ll start putting wins
together, putting streaks together, feeling good about our game and climbing the
standings. Until we can do those little things and make sure that we’re not
making the same mistakes night in and night out, we’re going to be fighting for
a playoff spot and fighting for position for the rest of the season.”

Friday’s game is also the start of a set of home-and-home
contests between the Capitals and the Red Wings. Detroit travels to Washington
on Sunday to supply the opposition for the Caps’ annual Super Bowl matinee
match, a game that also kicks off a four-game homestand for the Capitals. The
Friday and Sunday games mark the first set of back-to-backs for Washington
against the Wings since March 11-14, 1979, back in the days of The Original 17
when the two teams shared occupancy of the Norris Division.

Detroit’s roster has been plagued with injuries throughout
the season, and the Wings figure to be without a handful of key performers when
the Caps roll into the Motor City on Friday.

Center Stephen Weiss, signed as a free agent last summer, is
on long-term injured reserve after undergoing sports hernia surgery. Center
Pavel Datsyuk is on injured reserve with a lower body ailment, forward Cory
Emmerton is out with a finger injury and forward Johan Franzen is suffering
from a concussion. Veteran forward Henrik Zetterberg has an upper body injury;
he is nearing a return and could see action against Washington this weekend.

Goaltender Jimmy Howard is set to return after being
sidelined briefly with a lower body injury. Howard missed time earlier in the
season with a knee ailment; he is expected to get the start against Washington
on Friday. Howard has won only nine of his 29 starts this season (9-12-8), but
he is 3-3-1 with a 2.22 GAA and a .943 save pct. in seven January starts.

Detroit was 15-8-7 at the 30-game mark of the campaign, but
the injuries have taken a toll over the last two months. The Wings have won
just eight of their last 23 (8-11-4) games and they’re currently running sixth
in the NHL’s Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Capitals.

Most recently, the Wings suffered a 5-0 whitewashing at the
hands of the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Wings’ last home game was
last Sunday when they hosted to Florida Panthers. That one didn’t go well for
Detroit, either. The Wings twice owned a two-goal advantage over the Cats, but
they ended up on the wrong end of a 5-4 shootout decision.